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Politics : Foreign Affairs Discussion Group -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Nadine Carroll who wrote (119731)	11/16/2003 6:11:17 PM
From: lorne	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 281500

UNITED NATIONS — The Al Qaeda (search) terror network is determined to use chemical and biological weapons and is restrained only by the technical difficulties of doing so, a U.N. expert panel said in a confidential report. Saturday, November 15, 2003 foxnews.com Sanctions on supporters of Al Qaeda and Afghanistan's former Taliban (search) rulers appear to be too limited to prevent them from obtaining weapons and explosives, said the report, obtained Friday by The Associated Press. "The risk of Al Qaida acquiring and using weapons of mass destruction also continues to grow," the experts said. "Undoubtedly Al Qaeda is still considering the use of chemical or bio-weapons to perpetrate its terrorist actions." The only thing holding Al Qaeda back from using chemical and biological weapons "is the technical complexity to operate them properly and effectively," the report said. The five-member expert group led by Michael Chandler of Britain said it believes this is the main reason why Al Qaeda is still trying to develop new conventional explosive devices, such as bombs that can evade scanning machines. The report is the second by the expert group established in January by the U.N. Security Council (search) to monitor implementation of sanctions against 272 individuals and entities linked to Al Qaeda and Afghanistan's ousted Taliban regime. The sanctions include freezing assets, a travel ban, and an arms embargo. The experts said the bans were failing to stop Usama bin Laden's supporters, primarily because governments weren't enforcing sanctions and Al Qaeda and the Taliban had found ways to circumvent them. Egypt, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Morocco, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Syria and Yemen reported the arrest of individuals linked to Al Qaeda and the Taliban, yet in most cases they didn't submit the names to be put on the sanctions list, the report said. The report cited an investigation of two men on the U.N. list of terrorist financiers, Ahmed Idris Nasreddin (search) and Youssef Nada (search), whose bank accounts have been frozen but whose other assets including residential or commercial property in Campione d'Italia and Lugano, Switzerland, and Milan, Italy, have not been touched. On Jan. 28, it said, Nada traveled from Campione d'Italia to Vaduz, Liechtenstein, in violation of the travel ban and applied to change the name of two of his companies that were on the sanctions list. While "important progress has been made toward cutting off Al Qaeda financing," the report said serious loopholes remain that enable the terrorist network to funnel money to operatives. "Al Qaeda continues to receive funds it needs from charities, deep pocket donors, and business and criminal activities, including the drug trade," it said. It said Al Qaeda has shifted much of its financial activities to areas in Africa, the Middle East and Southeast Asia that lack the resources or the resolve to closely regulate such activity." The experts said they participated in a series of international and European discussions on efforts to curb trafficking in weapons of mass destruction.

To: Nadine Carroll who wrote (119731)	11/16/2003 6:13:33 PM
From: Hawkmoon	Respond to of 281500

We didn't have evidence...but now we do. I think more will gradually be forthcoming. Evidence? No.. not that would meet such a legal standard.. But we had TREMENDOUS probable cause, and the equivalent of a "show cause" legal battle going on over Iraq's unwillingness to cooperate with the UN inspections. Btw, Nadine.. Ain't it a "kick" to see certain European leaders "fretting" about the possibility of a premature US pull-out from Iraq? They spend the past 6 months claiming "the US broke it, let them fix it", refusing to participate in the post-war stabilization. And ONLY NOW do they recognize their months of impotent whining and complaining has emboldened the Baathist (Islamic militants?) in Iraq to the point where UN personnel are being targeted as well as US personnel.. And NOW they are showing concern?? These are the times that I almost find myself agree with Bilow, and seeing the US return to its isolationist tradition... But then I remember the millions of people around the world who died because no one was willing to confront totalitarianism.. Hawk

To: Nadine Carroll who wrote (119731)	11/17/2003 9:45:51 AM
From: Sam	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 281500

We didn't have evidence...but now we do. I think more will gradually be forthcoming. Well, we still don't have evidence, we just have spin from the Weekly Standard. But nevermind, I know that counts as "evidence" to many. DoD Statement on News Reports of al-Qaida and Iraq Connections News reports that the Defense Department recently confirmed new information with respect to contacts between al-Qaida and Iraq in a letter to the Senate Intelligence Committee are inaccurate. A letter was sent to the Senate Intelligence Committee on October 27, 2003 from Douglas J. Feith, Under Secretary of Defense for Policy, in response to follow-up questions from his July 10 testimony. One of the questions posed by the committee asked the Department to provide the reports from the Intelligence Community to which he referred in his testimony before the Committee. These reports dealt with the relationship between Iraq and al-Qaida. The letter to the committee included a classified annex containing a list and description of the requested reports, so that the Committee could obtain the reports from the relevant members of the Intelligence Community. The items listed in the classified annex were either raw reports or products of the CIA, the NSA, or, in one case, the DIA. The provision of the classified annex to the Intelligence Committee was cleared by other agencies and done with the permission of the Intelligence Community. The selection of the documents was made by DOD to respond to the Committee’s question. The classified annex was not an analysis of the substantive issue of the relationship between Iraq and al Qaida, and it drew no conclusions. Individuals who leak or purport to leak classified information are doing serious harm to national security; such activity is deplorable and may be illegal. -END- dod.mil